A former manager at a Toby Carvery in Ipswich has been cleared of stealing more than £3,000 from a safe on the day he quit his job,

Before Ipswich Crown Court was Darren Jones, 40, of Chinook, Colchester, who denied stealing £3,225 from his employers.

Giving evidence during his trial, Jones said he had decided to leave his job because he was unhappy with the way he had been treated by his employer and was worried about the effect the job was having on his health.

He denied stealing £3,225 from a safe at the branch in Edith Cook Way, Ipswich, before he walked out and trying to create a defence for himself by leaving the safe keys on his desk where they could have been picked up by someone else.

Jones said there were potentially three other employees who could have taken the money.

Jones was captured on CCTV entering the premises at 7.07am on April 23, 2017, and going into the office before leaving around 15 minutes later.

Another member of staff subsequently noticed the office door had been left open and saw a note from Jones saying he had quit his job.

When a safe was checked it was discovered that £3,225 takings were missing.